Counter Culture
The counter culture of the 1960's refers to a cultural movement that mainly developed in the United States and England and spread throughout much of the western world between 1956 and 1974. The movement gained momentum during the U.S. goverment's extensive military intervention in Vietnam. Many scholars of this era believe that the peak years of this countercultural movement were from 1965 to 1972.
As the 1960s progressed, widespread tensions developed in American socitey that tended to flow along generational lines regarding the war in Vietnam, race relations, sexual mores, women's rights, traditional modes of authority, experimentation with psychedelics, such as LSD and psilocybin, as well as with milder ones, namely cannabis, and interpretations of the American Dream regarding consumerism. New cultural forms emerged, including the pop music of the British band The Beatles, which rapidly evolved to shape and reflect the youth subculture's emphasis on change and experimentation. Additional musical groups from the United Kingdom as well as a growing number of topical American singers and songwriters also impacted the counterculture movement.